WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/GEN/971 
21 October 2009 
 (09-5207) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English/ 
 French/  Spanish 
 
  
RELEVANT RECENT ACTIVITIES OF THE WORLD ORGANIZATION  
FOR ANIMAL HEALTH (OIE) 
 
Report for the 46
th meeting of the SPS Committee  
 
Communication from the OIE 
 
 
 The following communication, received on 19 Octo ber 2009, is being circulated at the request 
of the OIE . 
 
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1. The OIE is pleased to provide this update for the information of SPS Committee Members.  
The key topics covered in this paper are develo pments in the OIE’s standard-setting work on 
terrestrial and aquatic animals and their products  and an update on OIE activities in support of the 
veterinary services of OIE members using the OIE PVS Tool for their compliance with standards of quality. 
Terrestrial Animal Health Standards Commission (Terrestrial Code Commission) 
 
2. The Terrestrial Code Commission met in September 2009 to consider OIE members' 
comments on the Terrestrial Animal Health Code  and to follow-up the discussion at the 77
th OIE 
General Session in May 2009.  In the light of these comments and input from other specialized OIE 
Commissions, the Terrestrial Code Commission propo sed several amendments to standards.  The 
Terrestrial Code Commission will review member comments on its proposals at its next meeting  
(8-12 February 2010) and will propose revised texts for member s’ consideration and possible 
adoption at the 78th General Session, 23-28 May 2010. 
(a) Foot and mouth disease (FMD) 
3. The Terrestrial Code Commission discussed th e application of the compartmentalization 
concept in the chapter dealing with foot and mouth disease (FMD).  The objective of 
compartmentalization may be to aid disease management and control or, on the basis of bilateral consultations with trading partners, to facilitate trade.  The OIE does not intend currently to grant 
official recognition for FMD - or other disease - fre e compartments, as is currently done for countries 
and zones.  
(b) Salmonellosis 
4. A new text that addresses hygiene and biosecurity practices to avoid problems with 
salmonellosis in poultry on farm and resultant f oodborne illness in humans has been drafted and will G/SPS/GEN/971 
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  be proposed for adoption by OIE members in 2010.  Noting that standards on salmonellosis are also 
under development by the Codex A limentarius Commission, the OIE will continue participating 
actively in the drafting and revision of the Guidelines according to the Codex procedures. 
(c) Private standards 
5. The OIE ad hoc  Group on Private Standards will next meet on 9-10 November 2009 to 
review replies to a questionnaire on potential concerns  of Members about private standards in the field 
of sanitary measures and animal welfare. 
(d) Trade in animal products ("commodities") 
6. The OIE ad hoc  Group on trade in animal products  ("commodities") met on 15 October to 
discuss and validate a technical report conducted by  an OIE Reference Laboratory on the FMD risk 
factors associated with internati onal trade in deboned beef.  This topic will be further discussed at the 
next meeting of the Terrestrial Code Commission in February 2010. 
Aquatic Animal Health Standards Co mmission (Aquatic Animals Commission) 
 
7. The Aquatic Animals Commission met in Se ptember 2009 to consider OIE members' 
comments on the Aquatic Animal Health Code and to follow-up the discussion at the 77
th General 
Session in May 2009.  The Commission will meet again on 22-26 Februa ry 2010 and will propose 
revised texts for Members’ consideration and po ssible approval at the 78th General Session,  
23-28 May 2010. 
8. Key texts that may be proposed for adoption include:  the safety of commodities derived from 
aquatic animals;  the food safety implications of aquatic animal feed;  and animal welfare standards 
relevant to the slaughter of farm ed fish for human consumption. 
Update on OIE PVS activities and PVS follow-up activities 
 
(a) OIE PVS evaluations 
9. As part of the OIE global initiative for Good G overnance of Veterinary Services, and at a 
member’s request, the OIE may conduct an evalua tion of the quality of a member's Veterinary 
Services using the OIE PVS Tool (Performance of  Veterinary Services), PVS Gap analysis and 
follow-up missions to support compliance of key elem ents of the veterinary infrastructure with 
international standards of quality, including the legislation. 
10. The current status of OIE PVS evaluations is  summarized in Annex 1.  About 100 requests 
have been received and 90 per cen t of the missions have been done. 
11. The OIE has incorporated aquatic animal health  services in a revised edition of the PVS Tool 
and will send a pilot mission to evaluate aquatic an imal health services of a member later this year. 
12. In December 2009, the OIE will organize a wo rkshop to collect feedback from experts 
involved in the PVS activities and will produce a revised edition of the OIE PVS Tool in early 2010. 
(b) PVS Gap analysis 
13. This is a quantification of needs and the corresponding indicative budget to address 
compliance for priority critical competencies discuss ed with the country concerned and based on the 
PVS report of the initial PVS evaluation of the country.   This can provide the basis for the preparation  G/SPS/GEN/971 
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  of investment programmes in close cooperation with  national policy makers, donors and other partner 
organizations. 
(c) Strengthening veterinary legislation 
14. In the face of increasing global trade, climate change and the emergence and reemergence of 
diseases that can rapidly spread across international bo rders, the Veterinary Services need an effective 
legislative framework to fulfill their key function.  However, the OIE is aware that in many countries 
the veterinary legislation is inadequate to address the challenges of today and of the future.  At the 
request of members, the OIE has published on its website guidelines on the essential elements to be 
covered in veterinary legislation:   http://www.oie.int/eng/OIE/organisation/A_Guidelines_Vet%20Leg.pdf . 
 
15. Any member that has received an OIE PVS Evaluation may benefit from a follow-up mission 
dedicated to the provision of advice and assistance in modernizing the national ve terinary legislation.  
The current status of OIE legislation missions is summarized in Annex 2. 
16. The new guidelines will be used to update nationa l legislation where gaps in legislation are 
identified in the course of an OIE PVS Evaluation.  
17. To identify needs and tools to assist Members in  modernizing their veterinary legislation, the 
OIE will hold the First OIE Global Conference on Vete rinary Legislation, in Djerba, Tunisia on  
6-8 December 2010.  The first c onference announcement is at:   
http://www.oie.int/eng/A_LEG_VET 2010/ENG_first%20announcement.pdf 
 G/SPS/GEN/971 
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  Annex 1 
 
PVS Evaluation Missions (as at 12 October 2009) 
 
Region Official requests Missions completed Reports available 
Africa 43 38 29 
Americas 17 17 7 
Asia/Pacific 15 12 8 
Europe 12 12 3 
Middle-East 11 9 2 
Total 98 88 49 
 
Official requests:  
Africa (43): Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burund i, Cameroon, Chad, Côte D’Ivoire, 
Congo(DR), Djibouti, Egypt , Equatorial Guinea , Eritrea,  Gabon , Gambia, 
Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho,  Liberia (non-OIE member), 
Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, 
Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal,  Sierra Leone, 
Somalia, Sudan, Swaziland,  Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, 
Zimbabwe 
Americas (17): Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, 
El Salvador, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, 
Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay 
Asia/Pacific (15):  Afganistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, Fiji, Indonesia, Korea 
(PDR), Laos, Mongolia , Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Vietnam 
Europe (12): Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgar ia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, 
Romania, Tajikistan, Turkey, Ukraine, Uzbekistan 
Middle-East (11):  Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait,  Lebanon, Oman, Palestinian National Authority  (non-
OIE member) , Qatar,  Saudi Arabia, Syria, UAE, Yemen 
 
Italics:  Completed missions  G/SPS/GEN/971 
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  Annex 2 
 
Legislation Missions (as at 12 October 2009) 
 
Region Official requests Missions completed 
Africa 12 3 
Americas 0 0 
Asia/Pacific 4 3 
Europe 2 1 
Middle-East 3 1 
Total 21 8 
 
Official requests:  
Africa (12): Benin, Congo (DR) , Ethiopia, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau,  Madagascar, Malawi, 
Mauritius, Nigeria, Togo, Uganda, Zambia 
Asia/Pacific (4):  Afghanistan, Bhutan, Cambodia, Vietnam  
Europe (2): Kazakhstan , Kyrgyzstan 
Middle-East (3): Kuwait, Lebanon,  UAE 
 
Italics:  Completed missions 
 
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